I am a fan of Nox Arcana. There is nothing I won’t do for them. I’m listening to Nox Arcana now as I type. Today is rainy and overcast. The sun is on vacay. The temperatures here are still cold.

I enjoy going on ghost walks and tours. I have been on a few in my own spooky ghost ridden town. I live in a very haunted city. There was a war here between the Natives and the people who came from Europe. the Halifax Explosion, the Titanic victims are buried here. The land here is soaked in blood. The city has a blood soaked history. The ghost tours are creepy and fascinating.

Here are some tips for participating in ghost tours for you.

Read a bit about the history or the ghost tour beforehand. It is not enough to just have fun, a ghost tour can be educational too.

Prepare yourself mentally for the tour. You may even see a ghost or two. The information presented during the tour can be blood curdling or unsettling. Be prepared ahead of time.

Have fun-and a sense of humor. Don’t let the narrator’s scary tone scare you off, pardon the pun. Keep an open mind.

Go with what you are comfortable with. Don’t let fear takeover your experience of fun. Have fun. That is the point of it. If you stress, then your mind will play more tricks on you.

Ask about the nature of the tour. I went on a ghost tour where we all ended up in a dark tunnel at night. The person’s cell phone light two people ahead of me in the line was the only light we had. Go with what you are comfortable with.

Be chatty. It can help relieve tension that may have built up inside you.

And my favorite tip: If you are as clairsentient and actually witnessed phantoms, then take a like minded friend with you. It helps when the muggles are joking about ghosts and helps validate your experiences. You won’t feel like the odd one out. Trust me, I know how that feels.

Today I want to talk about demons, or more specifically, why there are so many accounts of people encountering demons. It seems that it is happening more and more. But I am asking myself why?

I have a theory or two of why demons are appearing so often. One theory is we are entering a new age. The new age being a more spiritual age where the traditional rigid religious structures are falling at the wayside. The Goddess is now the deity of choice. Millions of men and women are drawn to the Wiccan religion. We are in a tumultuous time of change. The old structures, including capitalism, are falling.

The next theory is the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is thinning not just at Beltane or Samhain. But it is thinning all year. I have noticed a high increase in people reporting seeing spirits. I have seen them too.

The third theory is and I hate to play Devil’s advocate here, no pun intended, that Witches ARE opening the portal between the worlds. Now these theories are just that, theories. They are not carved in stone and you don’t have to agree with the theories. The theories do work on a certain level, though. Perhaps some spirits are coming through the portals.

The other night I was angry about something only to have my anger dissolve into wonder. I stared as something spectral with brown fur disappeared under my bed. I looked under the bed-no bogeyman. My kitty was in the bathroom, curled up on the floor. OK. Then how I do explain what I saw, considering my cat is white and ginger colored?

I know, I can’t figure it either. That is the mystery of it. I need to smudge my apartment. That can get rid of spirits. The above theories though supports one fact: I saw that thing and it is nowhere right now near Samhain. I can see spirits at any time of the year, any hour, any day or time. I see spirits in full color and form. These spirits, shadow people, demons or earthbound ghosts are attracted to clairvoyants/ clairsentients and psychics.

Ghosts might remain on earth because of unfinished business. Demons might hurt people because that is an offense against God. That is a Christian perspective but one that makes sense. It also depends on what you believe. I am noticing that more and more spirits are showing themselves and not that worried about it. I believe and this my belief, and not carved in stone, but we may all see more spirits, demons, ghosts and I think the world is going to get weirder. We might be seeing some weird shit in the future, not only at Samhain.

Then again, some demons or other nasty spirits may not want the clairvoyant, clairsentient or really psychic people sensing them. That is one reason why the spirits may be drawn to psychics. It is a scary reason and thing to think of. However, to back up my theory here, I met someone who claimed to have a nasty spirit that had infested in his apartment building. Part of me suspected the guy was all talk but upon entering his home, wow, the energy was so strong. The bad energy in there hit me like a wall of heat. The tenants ( save for the one guy who hated the nasty spirit) had nailed Ouija boards to the walls. Yeah that’s a great idea. Can you all sense my sarcasm here?) I hope so. That is a very bad idea. I don’t encourage any of you to try that at home. They won’t take them down. That is a way of digging your own grave, metaphorically speaking.

That is one explanation of why spirits and demons accounts are on the rise. These ideas are of course open to debate. I am presenting my own perspective. You, dear readers, are welcome to present your own and to disagree. I hope you do give this all some thought and comments in the space provided below, to share your own opinions. Stay spooky!!

I am still working on my Book of Shadows binder. I am happy with how it turned out. I love it now that I painted a sealant over the binder covers. It looks beautiful and aged, which is just the way I wanted it. I promise to post a photo soon.

I am so happy that Paranormal Chronicles is publishing my article on my phantom encounter in their next issue. I guess that the encounter paid off. Paranormal Chronicles is a new free digital magazine. The issue launches in mid-Jume. I can’t wait!!! The first issue had 3000 readers. Issue 2 will have surpassed 1000 unique readers in its first week! It’s a way to connect the paranormal enthusiasts all over the world.

The binder wasn’t hard to do. If you have an old unused dusty binder buried in your closet, and want to make it magickal as if it came off the shelves at Hogwarts, this is how you do it. I removed the plastic covering. Then I wiped down the whole binder to clear off the dust bunnies. I removed and set aside all the paper.

I assembled all the supplies I would need. I covered the whole outside of the binder and over all the edges with black tissue paper. I applied three layers of the tissue and lots and lots of glue. I applied the silver glitter stickers to the front of the binder. I let that dry overnight. The key there is to almost overboard with the glue. Set the binder on some newspaper or paper towels. This step gets messy. The front of the binder reads: :Hexes and Spells.” The spine reads Grimoire. I hot glued a spiderweb patch to the front of the binder. I hot glued on tiny black plastic spiders.

When I was sure the glue was dry, I then painted the binder with a few coats of brown acrylic paint. I wanted an aged antique look. The binder looks so cool. The brown paint and the wrinkles of the tissue paper makes the binder look truly worn and old. I glued a brown rectangle-shaped cardboard strip to the front of the binder. I glued them to the spine of the binder. I left the binder to dry and set.

When doing this project, make sure that the tissue paper does fold well over the top, bottom and side edges. This is why you use a few layers of tissue paper. I went over the silver glitter letters with an ochre colored acrylic paint. I painted neatly and painted over the stickers a few times to really define the letters. It looks so cool and the glitter still shows through.

On the back of the binder, I made a square out of cardboard strips I painted brown. I hot glued them on. Then I painted a small square of paper the same gold color as the letters and let it dry. I cut the edges of the paper with special scissors that give the curly edges. I glued the paper to the square and wrote my Craft name and the word grimoire in black ink. That also gives the binder an aged look and feel.

I have to tea stain 500 pages. I have procrastinated on that step. I will do it in batches. So now you all know how to jazz up a binder. I hope you can do the same even if you’re not studying at Hogwarts.

I am still working on my Book of Shadows binder. I am happy with how it turned out. I love it now that I painted a sealant over the binder covers. It looks beautiful and aged, which is just the way I wanted it. I promise to post a photo soon.

I am so happy that Paranormal Chronicles is publishing my article on my phantom encounter in their next issue. I guess that the encounter paid off. Paranormal Chronicles is a new free digital magazine. The issue launches in mid-June. I can’t wait!!! The first issue had 3000 readers. Issue 2 will have surpassed 1000 unique readers in its first week! It’s a way to connect the paranormal enthusiasts all over the world. I am thrilled to get to write for Paranormal Chronicles. Next, I want to write about the spooky maritime history that my hometown of Halifax is so famous for. Here is the link to the magazine- https://theparanormalchronicles.com/

I am working on Lesson 20 at Sacred Mists. I have almost finished my First Degree in Witchcraft. I am so proud to have made it this far. I hope I advance to Second Degree, because I can’t wait to and even Third Degree. Yups. I look forward to working on my garden too and helping Pamela at the witch shop with her garden.

I embarked on a Book of Shadows Binder DYI project recently. I found a thick binder that could fit like 300-600 pages. I removed the plastic which was a chore in itself and assembled all my necessary supplies.

I used a glue gun with new glue sticks, paper towels, black tissue paper, glittery letter stickers, scissors, a plastic bag surface for the binder to dry on, white glue, a spider web iron on decoration for the front of the binder and the binder itself.

I cut up the black tissue paper and glued it to the surface of the binder. This is why I removed the clear plastic first. It is not easy to glue the paper to the binder. I applied 3 layers of the tissue paper and smoothed the glue to prevent bad wrinkles or air bubbles. I have to let it dry maybe even overnight.

Then once I had the tissue paper secure on the front and back of the binder and on the spine, I smoothed the glue again and worked it over the top and bottom edges of the binder. It looks real cool. I then added the silver glitter letters. The front of the binder reads: Hexes and Spells. The spine of the binder on the side reads: Grimoire.

I love how it looks. I glued the spider iron on decoration with a glue gun to the front of the binder between the words. I added a lot of hot glue. A tip to make the glue stick adhere in the glue gun: add a drop of the hot melted glue to the glue stick then stick it in. It won’t fall out. Be careful with glue guns. I was badly burned once.

I want to add some paint to the black tissue paper to give it that aged antique look. I also plan to soak the pages for the binder in hot coffee/ tea and let the pages dry. Then I will write on them in black ink-with a witchy pen. Oh yeah I know I will have fun with it. I want to add photos but if anyone has friended me on facecrack, you can see the pics there. The tea stained pages will add that antique look too.

This can be a messy craft. Plan on using up a lot of glue and either peeling the glue off your fingers (like we did when we were kids) or washing your hands. I can’t wait to add halloween/ witchy themed stickers and illustrations, dried herbs, artwork. A Book of Shadows/ Grimoire should never be mediocre. It should be magickal. I would like it if it rattled the china when it opened but I can settle for fairy dust rising from my tome. On the Grimm shows, blood had to be offered to open the Hexenbeist spellbooks. I don’t know if I can go that far with my tome.

This is a fun and affordable project that can be done within a few days. It doesn’t need to cost a fortune and can lead to good memories. I will add spells, potions, moon spells, etc to the binder. I can’t wait to get back to work on it. I will also add illustrations, runes, the moon phases, and whatever I conjure or bewitch in the future.

Today the paint on the binder was dry. I then began the next step of creating my Book of Shadows binder. I first painted with gold and a lighter brown paint all over the binder covers. I didn’t like it. Then by some accident I tried a darker brown acrylic paint, painting carefully over the wrinkles to avoid any tearing of the tissue paper. I found the perfect color!I love the brown paint. F I painted the brown all over in 1 or 2 coats. I also added small strips of brown cardboard rectangles to give it more definition. I love how the binder looks.
I painted over the letters that spelled out Hexes and Spells on the front of the binder and the letters on the side of the binder that spelled Grimoire. That is exactly what I intend for this BOS to be.
I have pockets already on the insides of the binder. I can store little spell papers in the pockets.
I am so happy. I still have to tea stain 500 pages, a task in itself. I hope this inspires others to try it themselves.

I am saddened to learn that Lorraine Warren has passed away at age 92. She lived a full spooky life, lol. She really did too. I admired her although I had a feeling she doesn’t like witches. I admired her anyway. She did a ton of good for the world in her efforts to end people’s suffering with evil supernatural forces.

‘Lorraine, along with her husband Ed, were Connecticut based paranormal investigators, and were associated with some of the most prominent cases of hauntings and possessions.

Hollywood has built a horror movie franchise around the Warren’s work, including The Conjuring, Annabelle, and the Amityville Horror series.

Lorraine Warren was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1927.

Her husband, Ed Warren, passed away in 2006 at the age of 79.’ Article credit to Fox61

The next turn in the Wheel of the year is Beltane. I know that Sabbat is a favorite of many pagans. It is a time of some frisky fun after a harsh winter and early muddy spring season.

To welcome in the spring season, I made my own soap for the very first time. I loved making soap and found it to be quite fun.

Here is how I did it!

Chamomile, Lemon Balm and Woodruff Celtic Soap

This fragrant herbal soap is an easy DIY project that can be made with ingredients found in your own home. The soap makes a beautiful gift for loved ones. The gentle properties of the herbs chamomile, lemon balm and woodruff ease anxiety and stress.

Add the chamomile, lemon balm and woodruff herbs to the olive oil and jojoba oil in a pot. Steep the herbs until the oil darkens in color. Add the lavender essential oil. Set the cheesecloth over a strainer and place the strainer over a stainless steel bowl. Extract as much of the essence from the herbs as you can. Add the herb infused oil from the bowl to a clean jar and let cool.

Cut 4 cubes of glycerine soap base and place them in a double boiler on gentle heat. Let the soap cubes melt completely. Add the herbal oil to the soap base. Stir until blended well. Discard the herbs and the cheesecloth. Prepare the Celtic soap molds and place paper towel beneath the molds to catch spills. Wear gloves to protect your hands. Remove the soap mixture from the heat and pour the soap into the molds. Leave the soap to set in the molds undisturbed for two to three hours. The rubbing alcohol removes air pockets from the soap but has a pungent scent. Wipe spills off the soap molds with paper towels. Remove the soap from the soap molds and enjoy your chamomile, lemon balm and woodruff Celtic soap. I have included a photo of the soap too!!

Are you all ready for The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on April 5th? I can’t wait. I really look forward to it. I know its sparked some controversy but it is entertainment. And I want to be entertained. Spring is here! The wind’s blustering down power lines in my town. The staff at Neighborhood Witch had to light candles to light the shop. Oooh spooky.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my posts. Sorry I am on here more but I have been busy and sometimes seriously wrack my brain trying to find blog post topics. So please hang in there. I haven’t forgotten my dear readers. I’m going to finish that short horror story I’m writing. I vow to and once I vow to it, I usually stick to it. The Wheel of the Year has turned again and we are now in Ostara, the second spring Sabbat. The next one is Beltaine. I know a lot of witchy folks look forward to that one. Personally, I get most excited when Samhain arrives. Yup I live for it. I am still sporting all black clothing, black nail polish, skull rings. I dress like this all year.

My spring sprouts are up! When I attended the Ostara ritual, I got some blessed bean seeds. The bean seedlings are growing like they are in a hurry. The tomato seedlings for my boyfriend are growing real well too. I am amazed at how well they’re growing. The ice is all off my garden. Yay. The ground is still stiff but soon it won’t be. Before I know it, I will be setting down new soil and planting!

With the coming of spring is spring cleaning. I look forward to that too. My apt needs it. I ordered a special book for my love. It’s titled The Howling: Studies in the Horror Film. I hope he loves the book. He was very enthusiastic about the movie. I am almost done my first year at Sacred Mists. I am thrilled to have had the chance to study there and have learned so much. I hope to study for all three years there. I shall do my best.

Ostara is almost here!! Ostara, or the spring equinox, is the second Sabbat of spring.This post follows up from the last one. There is nothing wrong with being so clairvoyant or psychic. If you find that you are, celebrate it!

I want to talk about what to expect if you do enter a local metaphysical shop seeking advice. The staff in those shops are generally friendly and knowledgeable. They can answer any questions you may have. They can help you find good books, divination tools, or inform you of upcoming classes or workshops. There are so many awesome books out there about being psychic. Go through several of them and decide what you like.

It is easier to seek help and advice when you are just starting out. Do consider it. You could learn on your own if you want. But it is so much easier on you to try a workshop Psychic 101 then figure the stuff on your own. Perhaps I am a bit biased since I am studying at a witch school. The last year for me studying there has been amazing. I feel better, more directed, and know more than I ever would if I studied alone. I loved every minute of it. I was able to ask questions, obtain correct information on how to use a pendulum, for example, and be with like-minded people. I also was amazed at my progress. I would never have known if I was making progress if I was on my own. That is why seeking help is so valuable.

Now… here is the big one! If you do want a teacher, then go back to the metaphysical shop and chat with them. Finding a reputable person is important here. I say ‘reputable’. There are some shady people out there who may seek to manipulate and take advantage of you for their own selfish reasons. I found good honest people who were too willing to help me. So don’t let bad stuff happen to you.

Usually the classes and workshops offered at witch shops are relatively inexpensive. They range from tarot card lessons to astral travel. Again, go with what you feel comfortable with. But try to keep an open mind. You can learn a lot there. The workshop leaders are friendly- and you may make some new friends. Keeping a journal and regularly writing down your experiences in it can help you track your progress.

You don’t necessarily need to be a Witch to be psychic. You can be you. You can be whatever you want to be. Just because you are sensing spirits and already know who is calling you before you check your Ipad doesn’t mean you have to have a cat and a pentacle. There are many people who are simply clairvoyant and are not Witches. But being psychic could be a part of being a Witch if you want it to be. Just go with how you feel and what works for you and discard the rest. It may not always jive with your religious or spiritual path and that is OK. It doesn’t have to.

I hope this information helped you all. Many Ostara blessings to you all

It’s great to be psychic, clairvoyant and even clairsentient. I remember when I learned the hard way I had those abilities. This post will show you the dark side of being so psychically gifted and what they don’t tell you.

First off, if you are clairvoyant, it can be hard to know for sure. Here are the signs that you are:

Feel good about it. It means you will likely have more awesome magical experiences in your life. You sense who is on the phone without picking it up. You glance at your kitty and sense what your favorite furry is thinking. You get a hunch about the piece of jewelry is that you thought you lost and just find it. You have a dream about a friend and then hear from that person the next day. You know stuff without knowing how you know what you know but you just do. You have a dream of a deceased loved one visits you then you find out later that person passed away during the night. You just psychically know where a magazine is in a library and just find it- that happened to me. Basically, what should be impossible becomes possible.

But I still wish I knew what I know now the night I learned I was very psychically gifted. I had to learn everything the hard way. At first, I believed I was cursed. My magical community helped me every step of the way. So go ahead, and find others who are like minded. When you are starting out, you need a crew, tribe, pack, what have you, of like minded people who can help you figure things out. It is harder going it alone. When you are more confident, you can then rely on your own validation.

It takes practice to play. It takes practice to play the violin, the cello and to perfect anything you want to improve at. Being psychically gifted can be harder work but it is worth it. This is where having a community of like minded people can be an asset. Be patient with yourself. Enroll in classes or workshops. If you can find a local metaphysical witch shop, they offer classes for a reasonable rate. The shops may also have some books to read that are helpful.

Trust yourself that you are clairvoyant and really sensing all that weird stuff. You have to trust that it is real. That can be hard to do if you aren’t used to it and maybe don’t have a few psychic friends to help you make sense of things. But don’t give up. Practice self-care. This can go hand in hand with believing in yourself. A lot of success at believing you are psychic goes hand in hand with trusting in your own abilities. It will get better with time.

The night I discovered that I was clairsentient and clairvoyant- yes, these terms do mean something. It was a powerful, emotional, frightening night for me. I wasn’t prepared for how to handle it yet I felt like I was expected to know. That didn’t feel fair at all. That was real hard on me. It was made even worse when my family stared at me like I was nuts. I had no control over anything. I wish I did. I may have done things differently but this is the way life is. This is why it is so helpful when you have a thousand burning questions to seek help. It may not at first make sense but it will over time. You don’t become a grand mage over night. You do over time.

Be around people who will praise you, not criticize you. You have to find people who will offer you support during the times when you are new and learning everything. Some people have negative energy and that can drag you down. Just stay confident in yourself and the negative toxic people will eventually leave. We are not all the same. Not everyone is going to walk through the same door as you, when it comes to being psychic. They won’t always understand you but that does not make them evil. They are coming from their own life experiences, their limited perspectives.

When you discover you have those gifts, it is at first either frightening and powerful like it was for me, or it is a calm experience. I can’t determine that for you but I can give you the advice I wish I had at the time. If your experience is anything like mine was, keep reading. You thought you really knew everything about yourself. You will discover more about yourself in the future. You were going on in your merry way in life when BAM! Suddenly you are sensing all kinds of things you don’t know how you can know but you don’t know how you knew it. Relax. This is more normal than you think. It can feel like you have gone crazy. I am here to tell you that you are not crazy. What you are going through is OK. So breathe and keep on going in life. Try to stay calm and start trusting yourself. When you truly know yourself, because there is no one else you have to know so well than yourself, you will be happier and more confident and it will show. The Goddess appeared to someone in a dream. For me, it was a powerful vision and sudden magickal knowing that someone was extremely ill and in need of dire help. The experience differs for every unique being but that is the way it is. Again, this is more normal than you think.

Do try to use the gifts to help others more than yourself. I used to and still want to do intuitive readings for others. I do like to help others. This gift comes hand in hand with a responsibility.With great power comes great responsibility. I don’t know the lottery numbers but I was able to find someone without leaving the house. I didn’t have a conversation with that man. I didn’t ask anyone where I was. I psychically knew. The other point I want to make is don’t get too arrogant. Stay humble and positive.

You may decide that being psychic/ clairvoyant/ mediumistic, what have you, is not for you. It is OK to decide that. It is OK to feel nervous or uncomfortable about it. You may not feel comfortable psychically knowing stuff about people that they may not know you know. But it can also be to a great advantage to you. Try to think positive about it. You may have your own reasons for why you don’t like it and that is fair. If you decide you are cool with it, that’s great too. You might encounter negativity, or questions about your abilities. Just go with the flow. That’s normal too. The important thing is how you handle it.

I hope this has helped you all, dear readers, and answered some of your questions.